Rann

"Rann" is one of the best Indian films I've ever seen. And, while I have seen far fewer films than most Indians, I still have seen many films from this film making power house.

The story is set in India but it could just as soon be set anywhere else. It's a film about the news media and how they've slowly become either banal (with news stories which are crap) or outright lies. The film is set at a CNN or Fox News type of media empire run by Vijay Malik (Amitabh Bachchan). While his India 24/7 Network prides itself in presenting real news, it's also suffering because of this. A newer, glitzier media giant has emerged...Headlines 24. Headlines 24 isn't afraid to wallow in the mud and deliver crap to its viewers...and the people are eating it up. In desperation, Vijay brings his brilliant son Jay back from America to help him run India 24/7...not realizing his son is as completely amoral as the boss at Headlines 24. Jay sees his network slowly collapsing and makes a fateful choice--to throw his lot in with the sleaziest and most evil politician and create news. To solve the mystery of a recent terror bombing, Jay concocts news--implicating the evil politician's rival and setting himself up to become the next Prime Minister. Into this horrible and corrupt mess comes an incredibly idealistic reporter, Purab (Riteish Deshmukh). What is one small man against two media empires and a politician who makes Darth Vader seem like a pussy cat?!

This movie has everything going for it. The script is taut and exciting and after the film was over, I felt drained. Many times I felt myself gasping or on the verge of tears near the end...it was THAT powerful. It also helped to have some amazing acting. Everyone was great but Bachchan really outdid himself during the monologue near the end of the film. The direction was amazing. And, the music was very tense and exciting--and among the best I've heard. Unlike a typical sort of Bollywood film, there are no song and dance numbers (this would have severely hampered the movie) but a couple well chosen nice musical interludes really worked well. Overall, a terrific film with nothing to complain about...nothing. And, unlike most films, it has a universality that makes it a great bet for anyone no matter where they live. A must-see.

The news is that old RGV is back on track.

I was hoping for RGV to hit form at least in RANN after few craps like Contract, Aag and Agyaath. And guess what, He actually hit form in this movie. Trailers were promising and thats what took me to the theater. In the end I was really touched by this masterpiece which really went unnoticed. This was definitely one of the best works of RGV since Sarkar.

The movie rightly exposes internal politics of the media and how the news are created instead of reporting the actual news. No wonder why the electronic media reviewers like Rajiv Masand, Anupama bashed the movie saying "Ill researched"!!!!

Coming to the performance, Everybody from Rajpal Yadav to BigB has done justice to the character but Sorry BigB its Sudeep who steals the show with his terrific performance.

Pros.. Almost everything..

Cons Nothing really...

Verdict: Get your copy of DVD right now

Ramgopal has some kind of pakad on some subjects and this is one of them.He gave good movies like Satya,Company and Sarkar in the past.

From starting point of the movie It seems that it is gonna be awesome movie.At the end of the show You won't feel that your time has been wasted and all.Like the camera angels very much, Awesome screenplay, awesome direction.When actor like Ritesh acts you can say director has done a great job.Amitabh and Sudeep also gave powerful performance.Even the other actors Gul panag,Neetu chandra performed very well. Directors like RGV get disappointed when these type of movies not work on box office. In one word Powerful movie Strongly recommended

With "Rann" Ram Gopal Verma strongly strikes back with his own kind of cinema, wherein he only believes in telling his stories as they are, irrespective of their expected prospects at the box office. The movie is based on the news channel networks in the media and talks about the unhealthy competition prevailing within the industry to get higher TRPs than the rival channels. RGV in his own unique style blatantly reveals the hidden truth behind the so called Sting Operations shown on the news channels, which are capable of generating a massive reaction among the general public.

As it should be, RGV straight away comes to the point in the first 15 minutes itself and does not waste time in establishing his artists in their respective roles. But as expected, "Rann" is not a media bashing movie. Instead it's a movie more interested in showcasing the underground nexus existing between the clever politicians and media networks who are helplessly dependent upon the mercy of these policy makers. It tries to awaken the general public with the fact that today, news is not being reported truthfully, but it's being created tactfully in order to survive in this tiring competition. So, everything seen on the news channel may not be true and hence the public has to take the right decision with its own intelligence and instinct.

However, "Rann" does not entirely focus on the negative side of the topic. Very insightfully, the director shows Three kinds of mindsets prevailing in a society. Amitabh & Ritesh are the two protagonists fighting for their true spirits of a sincere journalist. Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Sudeep, Mohnish Behl and Suchitra Krishnamurthy are the ones only interested in the wrong side of the game. But the third section is full of people like Gul Panang, Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh who are neither interested nor willing to participate in any such activity on the social front. Sadly these are the kind of people who constitute a major part of our huge population and let the bad people continue with their ugly tricks of the trade.

"Rann" makes an impact right from the start and leaves you thinking with an interesting intermission. The climax comes up with a well written and superbly rendered speech by the one & only Amitabh Bachchan who is ashamed of himself being a part of the game played on his own channel unknowingly. Amitabh is once again superlative in his brilliant act of a sincere owner of a news channel who wants to run his channel on his own moral principles. But surprisingly, he hasn't got many scenes in the movie apart from the main climax. In fact the movie majorly revolves around Sudeep, who plays Amitabh's son and performs brilliantly in the role assigned. RGV once again gives the Industry a rather unknown actor who has got the talent and capabilities to handle tougher roles as proved in "Rann".

Paresh Rawal, returns on the screen as the main villain and is superb. Ritesh Deshmukh surprises you with his superb portrayal of a calm and sincere journalist, who refuses to accept the unhealthy norms of the trade and is willing to quit. Mohnish Behl is great as the owner of a rival channel. Rajat Kapoor fits to his role as a T. Suchitra looks ravishing and acts well as the in-house spy. Gul Panang looks delightful on the screen. Both Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh are just fine and Rajpal Yadav does bring some relief moments in the tense script.

Interestingly, Censor banned the use of "Jan Gan Man" composition in the movie, but quite amazingly missed out on the lyrics of all the other tracks used in it. Cinematography is of top rate especially in the climax speech of Amitabh. Dialogues are sharp and hard hitting as expected from an RGV film made on social issues and background score is well arranged and apt for the subject.

The movie has a basic plot resembling with Madhur Bhandarkar's "Corporate", but still unarguably it's more thought provoking and relevant in the current scenario. RGV is right there visible in the entire film and impresses you the most in the scenes where Paresh Rawal is interacting with his silent mother, Amitabh is explaining the irrelevant difference between a Hindu and a Muslim, Sudeep trying to cope up with the extreme pressure of being successful, his suicide scene and the well written climax where the truth prevails in the end.

Here, it must be noted that many viewers may find it hard to digest and unentertaining as they may argue that they don't buy a ticket for getting preached. But for all of them I would like to say that Cinema not always should be a means of entertainment alone. At times it's the duty of the intelligent film makers to come up with films which are capable of starting a debate especially among the younger generation, who have the power and enthusiasm to bring the desired changes in the society.

In the past, "Ankush", "Yuva", "Rang De Basanti", "Swades" and many more such films were made by on the similar grounds of starting a debate. With "Rann" RGV contributes to the same new age wave & I hope it is able to burn a new candle in the dark lives of our directionless youngsters.

In the end, I would like to add that in an Industry, where everyone is more concerned about the financial prospects of a venture, only RGV and no other film maker in the whole Bollywood could have dared to attempt a movie like "Rann". It's a must watch for all who have a thinking soul and know the value of that one single vote you have in your hands which can make all the difference.

"Government, businessmen and politicians are responsible for the stability of the country, thereby encouraging development but to the common man, how are they accountable for their duties? For this very reason, Media was born". Rann deals with the misuse of media's power that reaches out to millions with the truth. This high voltage, no nonsense thrilling drama that captivates your mind and engages you into its unpredictable screenplay has Ram Gopal Verma written all over it and it is indeed among his finest films. Rann is technically brilliant in every aspect. The subject is serious and seldom will you find a light moment and when the story demands it, Ramu enters the realm with all his might. Not a single song for diversion, not a single heroine dancing around, not a moment to edit, not a single mundane dialogue and not a stone unturned. This is cinema in its finest story telling form.

Vijay Harshvardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan) is the Godfather of India's news media. Righteous and truth seeking in his approach, Malik always favors the truth over TRP ratings and sensationalism. His son, Jai (Sudeep) wants the company to prosper by catering to the viewers' choices while supporting his father's integrity. Naveen (Rajat Kapoor), brother-in- law to Jai, introduces Jai to Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), the cunning politician who will cross all limits to gain his political mileage and together, they convince Jai to create news to gain a tremendous jump in the channel's viewership. Purab Shastri (Ritesh Deshmukh), the new comer in the channel is a devotee of Vijay Malik and as the sinister plot unfolds before him, politics and media unleash true mayhem. In all this, Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl) stands to gain advantage out of his competitive positioning and his shrewdness.

Rann moves at a reckless pace with a riveting narrative and explosive dialogue from its ensemble starcast. In terms of its distinct musical score, Sikkon Ki Bhookh, Gali Gali Mein Shor & Jana Gana Rann are very pertinent tracks to the movie's theme and will take repeated listening to catch the essence of the lyrics. Credit for a phenomenal screenplay goes to RGV and for optimizing the potential of such a strong cast of actors. Amitabh Bachchan is outstanding as the restrained and truthful media baron. His finest moment is towards the end when he comes in front of the nation, unravelling his channel's misuse. Paresh Rawal as Mohan Pandey is evil yet his confidence in his techniques is appalling. The smoothness with which he misleads the public in his speeches deserves some chuckles. Rajat Kapoor impressively plays the over ambitious businessman, Ritesh Deshmukh portrays the right amount of composure for his character while walking straight on RGV's guided path while Mohnish Behl deserves an applause for such an awesome come back. He is a capable actor and one wonders why his on screen shrewdness went unnoticed for so long. Gul Panag and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi are worthy in their roles while Rajpal Yadav renders some comic relief without digressing from the movie's theme.

But RGV is the true hero of the Rann. With slick presentation, brevity, brilliant screenplay aiding the seamless narration and a no-nonsense, to-the-point approach in every scene, he conveys the movie's message in a thriller like socio-drama. Sikkon Ki Bhookh, Gali Gali Mein Shor & Jana Gana Rann are very pertinent tracks to the movie's theme and will take repeated listening to catch the essence of the lyrics. Rann is uplifting, enlightening, meaningful, intense and worthy of a large combo deal at the cinemas.

8.99 on a scale of 1-10.